Tag Archives: Radiohead

Best [best] adjective, superl. of good with better as compar.
1. of the highest quality, excellence, or standing: the best work;
2. most advantageous, suitable, or desirable: the best way.
3. largest; most: the best part of a day.

It’s that time of year again – time to dig out the 1987 red roll-neck sweater you vow to replace every Christmas. Time to brave the shopping masses and dust off your cocktail party vernacular. Time to welcome home friends and family from far and near. And time to indulge in one of our favorite pastimes – browsing through dozens of “Best of” lists to see if our lives might still be relevant.

The Great River Radio staff has been sifting through another year of new releases, ticket stubs and playlists to bring our own twist to the Best of 2011 lists. Be sure to listen today from 4:15-5:45 p.m. CST to hear insightful commentary and select cuts from the lists below. So, strap it on, lock it in and let’s get to work.

Most Disappointing ReleaseDan:Brian:Bjork, Death Cab for Cutie, Rachael Yamagata

Unexpectedly Strong ReleasesDan:Brian: Wilco, Ryan Adams, Joe Henry

Trends in 2011Drumming and too many bands with the word “Black” in the title – Black Box Revelation, Black Lips, Black Kids, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Black Eyed Peas, Sounds of Blackness. Only one band matters in the club: The Black Keys

“There is the idea that a pop star has no right to voice their opinion.But I was a person before I was a pop star,and I’m due my opinion as much as anyone.”

– Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)

For as long as there have been wars and civil injustices, there are have been artists giving voice to the powerless. Protest songs have been a well-documented and crucial part of our social dialogue and cultural fabric since as far back as the 1381 English Peasant Revolt. Since then, protest songs have taken many forms: Irish Rebel Songs, Algerian Rai, field hollers, Anti-apartheid anthems, Vietnam folk and rock music, 1960s civil rights ballads and Post-9/11 laments, to name a few. Even today, we have artists such as Pete Seeger, Tom Morello, Michael Franti, Jay-Z, Kayne West and Jeff Mangum visiting Occupy Wall Street sites across the country.

But protest songs have an inconsistent history. Some have been effective agents for change. Others have been labeled propaganda, fascist/socialists/hippie tripe, utopian or a reason for treason. Some have incited violence and hatred (Dixie Chicks, anyone?). And many others – well well-intentioned – have just been bad music.

It’s our semiannual Social Justice Awareness Week (SJAW) here again at KUST, and Great River Radio will be taking a listen to protest songs throughout history. What makes an effective protest song? Can a song be a protest song without deliberately saying as much? We’ll look into this when we play protest songs from some of our favorite artists (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Tom Waits Arcade Fire, R.E.M., Bruce Cockburn, Jeff Mangum, Tom Morello, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, U2, Bright Eyes, The Staple Singers and Steve Earle). We’ll also play a few songs that might surprise you as protest songs. And finally, we’ll have a candid discussion about the current state of protest songs.

Please join us today from 4:15-5:45 p.m. for another informative and entertaining SJAW show from Great River Radio.

Playlist
This Land Is Your Land- Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, Sweet Honey In The Rock
How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Time and Live-Bruce Springsteen
Ohio-Crosby Stills Nash & Young
Let’s Impeach The President-Neil Young
When The President Talks To God-Bright Eyes
If I Had A Rocket Launcher-Bruce Cockburn
Talkin’ Bout A Revolution-Tracy Chapman
Final Straw-REM
Sunday Bloody Sunday-U2
Masters of War-The Staples Singers
Rich Man’s War-Steve Earle
Day After Tomorrow-Tom Waits
We Are The Many-Makana
Suburban War-Arcade Fire
Yell Fire!-Michael Franti & Spearhead
We Stand As One-Joseph Arthur

Oh, it’s a little bit of everything,It’s the matador and the bull,It’s the suggested daily dosage,It is the red moon when it’s full.All these psychics and these doctors,They’re all right and they’re all wrong,It’s like trying to make out every word,When they should simply hum along,It’s not some message written in the dark,Or some truth that no one’s seen,It’s a little bit of everything. “A Little Bit of Everything” Dawes (Taylor Goldsmith)

It’s nice to use some of the lovely lyrics from Dawes’ second album, Nothing Is Wrong, which arrived over the summer, and which became part of our soundtrack for the last few months. Great River Radio went on hiatus for the summer but Brian and Dan were busy, with a little bit of everything: baseball, fishing, road trips, work, family reunions, long evenings and early mornings, heat, picnics with cold chicken and beer, surprises, celebrations, anniversaries, transitions.

And a “little bit of everything” continues to describe the mix of music that you’ll be hearing this year on Great River Radio. As we begin our sixth season, we look forward to bringing to you once again our picks of the week – the new and the remembered, the local and the worldly, the unknown and a few of what we hope will be your favorites next week and next month.

So, remember how we said last week was our first show of season 6? Funny thing about that … KUST has been experiencing massive technology issues. While this should not be surprising when you consider that KUST is an online station, Great River Radio also was chosen as a “test show” for capturing audio and converting it a downloadable podcast. The problems were many, but the DJs rocked on.

Please note: There has been an ongoing problem with streaming the station. If you try to catch the stream and hear nothing but silence, you will need to upgrade the Quick Time software on your computer. Mac’s have not had an issue, but some PCs now need to have Quick Time 7.7. You can upgrade your QT software for free here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download. St. Thomas community members may have to contact the IRT Tech Desk (2-6230) to request an upgrade.

So, Great River Radio is going to have another go at this internet radio thing. Just think of last week’s reminder as the first alarm going off for season 6. You rolled over, hit the snooze button, and got another week of deep rest and relaxation before tuning into today’s debut show for season 6. Wake up!

We’ll do our part by bringing you another great 90 minutes of new music. You’ll hear new tracks from Sondre Lerche, Tapes N’ Tapes, Dum Dum Girls, Neon Indian, The Tallest Man on Earth, Mates of State, Wilco, Gillian Welch, Dawes and Tom Waits. And we’ll report on some of local shows we caught from the past week, including music from John Hiatt, Girls, St. Vincent and Wild Flag.

Finally, Great River Radio is very excited about a project that we’ve been working on for the last couple of months. As part of the “test show” for podcasting, almost the entire Great River Radio archive will soon be available for download/podcast via iTunesU. We are working with our tech department to unearth all available recordings and post them in a single location for your convenience. Starting tomorrow, listeners should also be able to download/podcast today’s show via iTunes. We are extremely pleased with this new offering, and will send you out details on how to access the archive and download/podcast Great River Radio at your convenience.

Thanks again for your patience and loyal listenership. We really appreciate it!

First, since it has been a while since you’ve heard from us, we’d like to send you wishes for a very happy new year from Great River Radio – and we hope it has begun well for you. The show has taken a break over the holidays and during January while we paid attention to the other responsibilities in our lives and work. As of yesterday, students are back on campus and we begin the spring march toward commencement in May.

Our first show of 2010 is one we’ve been working on for many weeks. Since fall 2009, as we wound down the first decade of the 21st Century, media outlets cultural critics have been full of discussions of the best, not only of the year, but of the last 10 years. Great River Radio has some opinions on music, as you know – we express them regularly on the show. Last fall, we began our own discussion about what WE considered to be, not just the best, but the most influential music, artists and phenomenon of the decade. And this week we are going to share those observations with you.

This Great River Radio show is going to be pretty personal, reflecting our vision and taste for the music that we’ve played on the show, rather than the entire world of music. You won’t be hearing Beyonce, in spite of the fact that she won six Grammys last Sunday. But you will be hearing from artists as various as Radiohead, Atmosphere, The Hold Steady, Sigur Ros, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, The Shins, LCD Soundsystem, Joe Henry and Jack White and others.

We’ll also be talking about a few of the most significant developments that affected music in the last 10 years, including the importance of digital music, the soundtrack phenomenon and other culturally important industry developments.

We think you’ll like this show as a review of the decade in music – and a chance to hear some great songs from Great River Radio’s favorite artists. It will be epic!

Can you believe that we’re already approaching the end of another decade? Seems like just yesterday we were Livin’ La Vida Loca with Ricky. Those were heady times in pop music. But all good things must pass.

Like all responsible observers of the music history, Great River Radio is set to embark on a thorough examination of the music that really mattered in the Aughts (2000-2009). We’re preparing as any good student would – doing research, looking back on our notes, attending live shows and scouring the Internets.

Now we’re seeking your help with this simple question: What albums and/or artists in the last 10 years have had the greatest influence on music?

We’re not necessarily looking for your favorite CD or a critic’s “Best-Of” list. This pursuit of a “Decade of Influence” is quite different.

As many of you know, 10 years can be a long time … especially if you’ve been spending those years raising young children or touring with “Up With People.” So, we’ll leave you with a partial list below (courtesy of NPR) of some of the artists who definitely have had an impact on our music rotation in recent years.

Take a look at the partial list. Who did we miss? Who set us on another course? Who came out of nowhere to create a new sound? Who turned the world on with their smile?

* Once you’ve given it some thought, please post your entries (artist and album) on our “Decade of Influence”page. We’ll compare notes and share some of your suggestions during our Great River Radio – Decade of Influence show in early 2010. – Brian/Dan

Note: we had some audio problems in the first few minutes of the show, so we are missing a channel – stick with the show, it gets fixed.

Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever castThe water’s warm and children swim
And we frolicked about in our summer skin

I don’t recall a single careJust greenery and humid airThen Labor day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin“Summer Skin” – Death Cab for Cutie

Summer Lovin’. Endless Summer. Summer of ’69. Boys of Summer. Girls in Their Summer Clothes. There are thousands of reasons musicians write about the lure of a carefree summer. Then we begin to resist fall’s steady pull with all the strength we can summon. Yet here we are post-Labor Day, back to school and filled with melancholy. For our first Great River Radio “Confluence” segment, we will try to capture some of the palpable feelings that arrive with the end of summer. The catalogue is rife with good tunes for this theme as you’ll hear from Buffalo Tom, Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone. What’s your favorite end-of-summer tune? Let us know, and we’ll try to sneak the request in during the show.

We’ll also kick off season four of Great River Radio by catching up with music you may have missed over the summer. With new song and CD releases by Radiohead, Brother Ali, Why?, Joe Henry, the Dirty Projectors, Holly Williams, the Believers, Avett Brothers, Imogen Heap and many others, there will be plenty to choose from.

Join us today for the first live Great River Radio broadcast of the season.As always, we sift through the scrap heaps of music to bring some of the best new and lasting music to your desktop.

Catch the stream live today at 4-6 p.m. CST: http://kustradio.comCheck in during the show via iChat or AIM: kustradio

And just a reminder to send us some topics for upcoming “Confluence” themes. You suggest a mini-theme, and we find the tunes to match the mood. Feel free to challenge us – our brains could use the exercise.